Archive for October, 2008

I’d like to piggy back off my Sheriffs post yesterday and include another newspaper that got it right. The Pueblo Chieftain ran a piece called, “Amendment 49 wording nothing new in Colorado.” They highlighted that 12 counties already have language similar to 49, which means that over half of Colorado’s population already lives under 49. Thus, the claims that law enforcement and firefighters will be left out to dry is…. well, I’ll let Weld County Sheriff John Cooke speak for himself,

We’ve had (Amendment 49 wording) in Weld County, and we’ve had it for several years,” said Weld County Sheriff John Cook. “It does not affect our ability to provide good law enforcement. I think it’s ludicrous and insulting on some of these ads that say we can’t do as good a job if 49 passes.

Yesterday we filed a complaint with the Secretary of State against the ridiculously named “Coloradans for Middle Class Relief.” They are a registered group opposing only Amendment 47, however they have been floating print and radio ads against Amendments 49 and 54 as well (exactly how opposing these Amendments is “for middle class relief” is beyond me). This is in direct violation of campaign laws. Both the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post reported on our complaint this morning, with the Post citing,

The complaint alleges the issue committee violated a campaign-finance law, which could result in a penalty of $50 per day from the date of infraction.

$50 per day? Wow! I bet that’ll burn up the union coffers. I wonder if they can afford such devastating fines, you know with having been given $3 million this month alone.

And that my friends, is their MO. Break all the campaign finance laws you want, because in the end, you’ve got a never ending supply of money. And by the time the story ever gets out, it’s past election day and no one cares.

You’ve heard it before. “Amendment 49 will deprive firefighers and police officers from obtaining adequate equipment.” “Amendment 49 will silence workers’ voices.” blah blah blah, etc etc. These sorts of lies and distortions deserved a response, so we found some folks with the authority to debunk those claims as absolute nonsense.

Sheriff John Cooke of Weld County, Sheriff David Weaver of Douglas County, and Sheriff Ted Mink of Jefferson County held a press conference at the State Capitol yesterday to put to rest the false claims made against 49. Three other sheriffs who could not attend the press conference signed on to the letter in support of 49. Head over to Ben DeGrow’s blog to hear 5 audio clips from the press conference. If you learn better visually, here is a highlight video from the press conference:

You might be wondering what gives these Sheriffs the authority to proclaim the allegations against 49 are, as Sheriff John Cooke said, “ludricris.” Well, 5 of the 6 Sheriffs signed on represent counties that have already enacted Amendment 49′s language. Therefore, when they get up there and say that it does not prevent law enforcement from doing their jobs, they are speaking from first hand experience.

The foes of 49 haven’t taken a clean shot at it yet. They’ve run no ads attacking the measure on its own. Instead, they’ve lumped the three ballot issues together. Since each is different, the campaign against 49 has been especially misleading.

There’s a lot of deception going on stating that police officers, deputy sheriffs are not going to receive their body armor, aren’t going to receive their vests,” Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver told the Ethical Standards Now group. “That is totally inaccurate.

And this from Sheriff John Cooke,

It’s ludicrous that some of these ads say we can’t do as good a job if Amendment 49 passes, Cooke said.

Finally, the ridiculous ads against 49 have been running non-stop on 850 KOA, which prompted my colleague Mike Rosen to respond on his morning show. He put it very succinctly this morning when he said, “Don’t be stupid.” Here is the audio of the horrifically absurd ad (if you can stomach it), with Mike Rosen’s hilarious response following right after: rosen10.30.mp3

Did global cooling have a fatal effect on the Vikings of Greenland? What does it have to do with the current hysteria about global warming and how will “climate change” affect our economy? Those are just a few of the questions climate and environmental expert James Taylor (not the singer) from the Heartland Institute will address when he visits the Independence Institute.

Join us for our Fire and Rain: Environment and Economy event on Thursday, November 20, at our offices. Reception with James Taylor will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by a 10-minute video on the demise of the Vikings of Greenland and Mr. Taylor’s presentation. For more information call 303-279-6536 or visit our website. To RSVP contact rsvp@i2i.org.

With 14 ballot measures, Colorado voters face a lengthy ballot this year. To help speed up the process, this week on Independent Thinking we provide a Cliff Notes version of the Colorado Voters’ Guide so get out your cheat sheets! Dan Haley of the Denver Post and Lynn Bartels of the Rocky Mountain News join me as they go through the ballot measures in rapid-fire fashion. That’s this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. on KBDI Channel 12; repeated the following Tuesday evening — election day — at 5 p.m.

Life has not been the same since Susie the State Worker, Bernie the Bureaucrat, and Larry the Lobbyist made their film debut on Amendment 49 – the Ivory Tower Explanation. It’s been constant phone calls from the media requesting comment and appearances, oodles of fan mail from the adoring public, and swarms of attention when out in public. Susie’s even made a cameo on an episode of Desperate Housewives.

All this attention was enough to catch the eye of Penny Parker at the Rocky, who penned a column about the whirlwind experience the puppets have been through recently, and their newest public appearance: the Amendment 49 Sock Puppets Ebay auction. Yes, that’s right. You, loyal readers, can be the proud owner of Susie, Bernie, and Larry if the price is right. Currently, the bid is a measly $152.50. A mere pittance for what these famous socks are actually worth. So head on over to the auction and give my famous socks a new home!

Usual statement coming out of a man on a date – “Enough of me talking about myself, let’s hear you talk about me.” In that spirit I hope you’ll enjoy this Rocky Mountain News piece about me. Is it accurate? It only categorized me as a self-aggrandizing, ego maniacal wanna-be adult film star. Which of course is completely true… but they made it sound like it was a bad thing! In all seriousness, it was a fair hearing, and I don’t have too much to complain about. Not only did they give me a whole page and a half with a photo, they did a good job talking up Amendment 49, which included mentioning some of its major endorsements, the mountain of money we are up against ($118,000 vs. $15,000,000), and the world famous sock puppet YouTube video. (Which by the way are still up for bid on Ebay!)

On a side note, it’s funny how “No-Show Knox” likes to chime in against 49 only when there’s no one around to respond. This is the guy who refused to do a televised debate with me over Amendment 49 after he confirmed he would.

This article was just the sort of media attention a “…dyslexic bald man with a beard, a deadpan expression, a live-wire smart mouth, a 24/7 compulsion for political incorrectness, the soul – if not the looks – of a porn film star, a puckish sense of self-deprecating humor, a flair for “pissing people off” and the unwavering rectitude of a crusader for the Gospel of the Free Market” revels in.

People keep asking how I am going to vote on this fall’s ballot issues. So I offer this up only as a way to show how I am going to vote personally – not as a call for you to vote this way, nor does this in any way represent the official views of the Independence Institute. For links to the campaigns go to http://www.shakedowncolorado.org/issues-08/

46 – yes Government shouldn’t discriminate based on race.47 – yes No one should be forced to pay tribute to a union to keep a job.48 – no Too many unintended consequences, no exception for rape, incest, health of mother.49 – yesGovernment shouldn’t be the bagman for lobbyists.50 – yes If you don’t like gambling, don’t gamble, but don’t stop me.51 – no Government has the money for the disabled if they prioritize.52 – yes The roads need the cash, and we don’t need a tax increase.54 – yes Government should put nearly all contracts out to bid.58 – no We don’t need new taxes or higher gas prices.59 – no Don’t destroy the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.L – yes If you can drink at 21, you can run for office.M – yes Obsolete provisions in constitution.N – yes More obsolete provisions in constitution.O – no Don’t take power from the people.